Talk to your EV; Plant a tree
As more cars become integrated with the internet of things (IoT), there is likely to be a growth in wireless data exchange between cars and their human users, and also among the cars themselves.
The book “Simply Emerging Technology” by UK-based science and tech journalists describe it as vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication. Cars would transmit data about their velocity and direction and share alerts with each other about breakdowns or dangerous weather conditions, and so improve road safety and traffic congestion.
The authors also tackled the issue of carbon footprint and transportation, as they stressed that a fifth of global CO2 emissions have been caused by transport. They disclose that substantial efforts are being made to make the sector greener, and this means the conscious push to use fewer fossil fuel-burning vehicles and more sustainable new-energy vehicles.
Connectivity and sustainability were also the talking points at the July 15 roundtable discussion between ACMobility and members of the motoring media held at the ACEN headquarters in Makati City.
The Ayala company launched a new-user experience for its connected car technology for BYD car owners. It also introduced the “Gift of Tree” program, in partnership with Ayala Land, that plants a tree at an Ayala carbon forest in the name of every BYD buyer.
Toti Zara, head of ACMobility’s Automotive Retail Distribution, said: “The corporate goal of BYD is sustainability, which is to cool the earth by 1 degree Celsius. This corporate goal blends so well into Ayala’s own sustainability program. Today, we are announcing the expansion of AC Mobility’s ACRE movement to include BYD.”
Last Sept. 27 I attended a tree planting program in Alaminos, Laguna for one of ACMobility’s other automotive brand, Honda AC Motors. The activity was part of the “ACRE Movement: A Gift of Tree” program that marked the 5,000th tree planted.
Now, BYD Philippines officially becomes part of the ACRE movement, which is fitting for the EV maker.
“We will not only be planting, but growing one tree for every car that we sell. It will be planted in one of two carbon forests that we have, in Bulacan or in Davao,” said Zara.
Zara also pointed out that the venue of the roundtable, the ACEN (which by the way stands high up at the 35th floor of Tower 2 of the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City, is the “melting pot of AC Energy.” He further stated, “AC Energy has committed to be 100 percent renewable by 2025.”
The tower itself is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold-certified building, designed and constructed with resource-efficient features that have minimal negative impact on its surroundings.
ACEN is the listed energy company of the Ayala Group. ACEN aims to provide clean, reliable and affordable energy in Asia-Pacific and grow its renewables capacity to 20 GW by 2030. It claims that it’s the first energy company in Southeast Asia to complete a Net Zero roadmap.
Connected car technology
BYD’s mobile application is designed to allow communication between mobile phones and the EV. Basically, it will allow the user to control and select key functionalities of the vehicle.
“The app will be offered not only to customers that we would be selling to, but to all our customers, including those who purchased BYD in the past. They just need to download the app. For some customers, they need to go back to the dealer for a software upgrade. This is the next technology we are rolling out for BYD, part of a series that we have rolled out,” said Zara.
He said that this level of connectedness “is not yet (for) autonomous driving, but a critical step towards achieving level 3 autonomous driving.” Level 3 autonomy means the car can already drive itself in generally good condition, while the driver can already engage in other activities such as reading.
ACMobility’s product director Eric Viola explained the benefits of the BYD billing system that’s supported by the app.
“It provides our customers with more convenient driving and ownership. So, all BYD vehicles come with voice recognition and smart assistance. Of course, it comes with the navigation as well. And it has the capability to interconnect via Bluetooth, wifi and 4G. With the BYD app you can also monitor the vehicle in real time in terms of usage as well as its battery condition.
“It provides smarter entertainment capabilities. As you may have probably driven a BYD vehicle. All BYD vehicles come with a rotating screen function as well as a customizable user interface mode and split screen settings to separate the drive and the entertainment settings.”
The team adds that the app allows customers to know the driving range, the remaining charge, the aircon status, tire pressure, and even have control of the doors and windows.
A BYD owner can also schedule the auto climate control through the app. So, when your car is parked under the sun, you can already turn on the vehicle and its AC even when you’re just about to leave the office.
Through the app, the owner can also easily locate his or her parked vehicle.
